Carbon dioxide converter



Nov. 28, 1939. R, MclLRATH 2.I81,195

CARBON DIOXIDE CONVERTER Filed July 22, 1938 tla Patented Nov. 28, 1939 The invention relatesto converters andmore particularly to 'apparatusfor converting solid carbon dioxde into gaseous form.

The present invention in general constitutes a an improvement upon the apparatusdisclosed in .my copending 'application Serial No. 172,'133

filed November-1; 1937 -now matured into Patent In this 'No. 2,166,637,: `granted Jiy 18,.-939. earlier filedapplication 'a carbon dioxide conl-Q' verter has .ben disclosed embodyi ng acontainer i adapted to receive solid ca'rbon dioxide, -whichis converted into gaseous -form a'nd a-single 'blowoff cock' located at a low pointin the contain'er. u By so placing this blow-oil oock, which-is the' sole' g meansof relieving the pressure within -the container, an opening of the cock to relieve the pres-. I sure automatically causes *the residual g'as withe` z in 'the container to scrubout the walls ofthe container and remove any foreign' matter deposted therein.

26 verter chamber and if it is not removed periodically it passes out of the chamber into the charged beverage and gives the la'tter 'an unpleasant taste. A blow-off cock 'arrang ed-*as v described above should preferably be ofsuch 30 character that the operator of the converter can dioxide areinserte'din 'the containers- ID through 1 operate it by simply grasping it with his fingers as distinguished from using a wrench-or similar contrivance such a digitally operable cock .must control a very small port, however`, in View of the highpressureswhich' are built'up in `-the converten The oil, dirt or other' foreign matter` within the converter is likely. to clog such a'small port so that two antithetcal -.requirements are'.

v presented-l The general aim of thepresentin 40 vention is to solve this-difliculty;

More particularly it is an objectfof thepresent' invention to provide an improved form of car-- bon dioxide .converter embodying a' blow-'ofi-co'ck.

device so arranged that it can. be .digitally op-` 1 erated-to relievethe 'pressure within the converter, and at the sametime cause'` the escaping gas to exert a scrubbing action on the interior of the container,' and alsoembodying an arrangement for cleaning andinspecting the interior in the blow-oli cock device' itself so that it will not become clogged during use;

Further objects and advantages of theflimren- I %in the ;container reaches 1,000 pounds per square i'neh; The. high tion will become apparent as. the followingdescription proceeds taken in connection with the accomp'anying drawing'in it.

such an arrangement is par-` ticularly useful in .the event that the gaseous 'carbon dioxide derived from the converter ;is to be used incharging beverages because asmall quantity of oil sometimes collects in the 'coniFigure "1 'is a general perspecti've View of a :multi container car-bon 'dioxidecon'verter me'chv anism' embodying the' present invention'; .-Fig.' -2 'is an enlarged longitudinal sectional .view. of "one the 'a'pparatusof l.

j of i the converter' i units included in 5 '3 is 'anenlarged--vertical sectional 'vi ew 'Offa blow-off 'cock devie,1one of iwhich is .incorporated in each of the 'converterunitsa v q For convenience ofillustration' ;the invention' 10 hasbeen shown and described hrein l asem bodied 'ina converterior carbon dioxide 'andin u Hwhich quantities of solid carbon dioxide are con- 'verted into gaseo's form within thecontainer and supplied to 'somepoint'of use as, ior ex& 15v

ample, in a b erage 'charging appa'ratus. :It-will. be'- understood `'by those skilled in theart; howeven that the presentxinvntion may in some respeets beapplicable to other types of con-:1 ve'rters and there is consequently no intention 20 to limit the:invention-to .the *particular applica tion shown. On-the other hand, the appende'd olaims are 'intended to 'cover all modifications `'and alternative constructions within the spirit and `scope of-the invention.

Upon reference'to- Eig. 1 it willbe seen that the, particular converter' apparatus disclosed inv cludesaplurality of 'vertical-lyarrangedcylindrical-container units lfl carried onsupporting racks orframe`. works *I -Blocks of solid carbon 3 large openings- 12 `(Fig. 2) in the upper ends thereof whichexpose the` interiors'of the; con

tainers to's ubstantially their entire cross 'section.. -After the container has been loaded withf' the solidcarbon dioxide a- .cover l3is 'disposed across theiopening l2,"as shown in. Fig. 2 with* i itsperipheral edge portion abutting against `a i dwnwardly facing shoulder jor flangeji' lfsur- 'rouhding the-.opening 'of thecontainer; -Then, 40

" as the pressure.witl i the contain'er is increased, the" cover' !3 is I pressed tightly against the' 'shoulder l4,".thereby forming' an' effective 'hermetic seal. Theiusual pressure guage limay be mounted on-the cover 13.' a 5 'In order to convert-.the ;carbon dioxide within' the container 0,from -its solid to its gaseous i phase, thecontaineris exposedto ordinary room pressure gas' may then -be drawnoff through an 55 outlet conduit !6 connected to a. beverage charging apparatus or the like. Each of the containers o communicates with the high pressure line IS through outlet nipples l'I and have shut-off valves I 8. The amount of gas supplied from each container can be readily controlled by these shut-ofi valves [8.7

Small'quantities of lubricating oil and similar adulterants are sometimes mixed with the carbon dioxide during the process of its formation. This oil or the like condenses in the form of small globules as the solid carbon dioxide changes to gaseous form and may accumulate in the bottom of the converter container Io, finally being discharged with the gas passing therefrom after a period of time. In order to overcome this difliculty the container is preferably so fashioned that its interior walls slope to a single low point as indicated at !9 in Fig. 2. An aperture 20 is located at this point and in this aperture is inserted an improved form of blow-off cock device designated generally by the numeral ZI. This blow-off cock device constitutes the sole means of finally relieving the pressure, within the container ill, to such a value that the cover |3 can be removed. consequently, upon each refilling of the container the pressure therein is relieved by opening the blow-off cock device 2l and in this pressure relieving operation the gas flows rapidly across the inner walls of the container thereby exerting a scrubbing `action on them and carrying any oil or other foreign matter into the blow-off cock device Zi.

In order to facilitate frequent operation of the blow-ofi cock device 2! it is provided with a valve member which can be operated by the operator's fingers as distinguished from the use of a wrench or the like. In the illustrative construction shown the device includes an elongated generally cylindrical valve body 22 which is threaded in the lower end of the aperture 20. An interiorly located bore 23 extends axially throughout the length of the valve-body 22 being somewhat reduced in diameter at its lower end. A transverse bleeder port 24 communicates with the mid-portion of the bore 23. This port 24 is quite small in cross section so that it may be eectively closed by a digitally operable 'valve member 25 threaded in an extension 26 on the valve body 22. When the valve member 25 is in the position shown in Fig. 3 the small bleeder port 24 is eectively closed. Upon hacking ofi the valve member 25, however, the port 24 is opened so that gas can escape from the interior of a container Ifl'through the bore 23, port 24 and finally to atmosphere through a port 21 in the side wall of the projection 26.

In the operation of one of the Converter units described the container o is loaded with solid carbon dioxide which gradually changes into gaseous form in the manner previously noted. This gaseous carbon dioxide is withdrawn from the container through the line 16 until the pressure within the container falls to such a value that it is no longer sufiicient for beverage charging or other purposes for which the gas is being used. In such case, however, the gas within the container o is still under considerable pressure and accordingly this pressure must be relieved before the cover [3 can be removed for refilling the container with fresh solid carbon dioxide. To so relieve the pressure the operator grasps the valve 25 with his fingers and backs it ofi until the high pressure gas within the container ID can escape through the bleeder port 24. The

escaping gas flows over the inner walls of the container and effectively scrubs them clean of any oil or other foreign matter which may have been deposited in the container. Most of this foreign matter fiows out through the port 24 but.

larger or heavierparticles collect in the lower 'end of the valve body bore 23. In the course of time this collection of larger particles becomes sufiicient to clcg up the port 24: It is impractical to make the port 24 of larger diameter since it must be very small if it is to be eifectively retained closed by the digitally operable valve member when subjected to pressure as great as 1,000 pounds per square inch such as are encountered in such apparatus. This high p essure occurs while the valve is closed and during the conversion operation rather than at the time of valve opening or closing. When it does occur, however, the pressure per unit area tending to unseat the valve element is very high. By making the port 24 small the area of the valve element 25 contacted by high pressure gas is minimized, as is the total pressure applied to the valve element. consequently, the valve element remains firmly seated even though tightened only by the operator's fingers.

To accommodate the blow-ofi cock device 21 for periodic cleaning it is provided with a valve member or cup shaped cap 28 threaded on the lower end of the valve body 22. This cap 28 is normally positioned as shown in full lines in Fig. 3 so that it press'es tightly against a gasket 29 and hermetically seals the lower end of the bore 23. The cap 28 is preferably made in hexagonal shape so that it can be readily gripped by a wrench for tightening purposes. When the cap 28 is screwed o to the position shown in dotdash lines in Fig. 3, a series of radially extending ports 30 in its side walls communicate with the lower end of the bore 23 so that the gas pressure can be relieved through them.

The cap 28 is more than simply a cover for a clean-out port. In fact, it constitutes a second or alternative bleeder valve for relieving pressure within the container m and acts to clean out the bore 23 in the blow-off cock device 2| automatically. In the normal .operation of the converter the operator unscrews the cap 28 to relieve the pressure within the container about once a month and, of course, uses the finger operative valve 25 at all other times. On the occasions when the cap 28 is unscrewed torelieve the pressure within the container I 0 the high pressure gases flowing down through the bore 23 and out through the ports 30 scavenge the interior of the bore 23 so as to remove all accumulated dirt or sediment so that there is no chance of its clogging the small bleeder port 24. This scavenging action is usually sufficient to completely clean out the interior of the blow-off cock device 2I. The cap 28 may, however, be removed completely and the interior of the blow-ofi cock cleaned with a suitable tool or brush. It will thus be seen that although the normal pressure relief operation can be quickly and easily carried out by the finger operated valve 25 that, nevertheless, the small bleeder port 24 is effectively maintained free of dirt or sediment which would otherwise clog it.

I claim as my invention:

1. A solid to gaseous converter for carbon dioxide or the like comprising, in combination, a hermetically sealed container adapted to contain a mass of solid carbon dioxide, said container having an opening therein through which the solid carbon dioxide may be inserted, said opening being bordered by an inwardly facing shoulder, a closure for said opening positioned within said container and bearing against said shoulder whereby the pressure of said gas within said container forces said closure tightly against said shoulder to form a hermetical seal, an aperture located at a low point in said container, a valve body threaded in said aperture and having a bleeder port of very small cross-sectional area therein, a digitally operable valve member controlling the small port for bleeding gas from said container through said small port, the rapid flow of high pressure gas within the container to said bleeder port serving to scrub the container walls free ofany oil or the like collected therein, said valve body also having a relatively large clean-out port therein communicating with said small bleeder port and directly with the interior of said container independently of said bleeder port, and

a wrench-operable valve member arranged to close said larger port and to open the same for the escape of scavenging gas upon the removal thereof.

2. A solid to gaseous converter for carbon dioxide or the like comprising, in combination, a hermetically sealed container adapted to contain a mass of solid carbon dioxide, said container having a central axial bore therein opening into said chamber at the inner end thereof and to the atmosphere at the outer end thereof, said valve body having a small bleeder port in the side wall thereof opening into said bore, a digitally operable valve member for controlling said small port to relieve the pressure in said chamber upon the opening of said valve and thereby permit opening of said closure member, the gas escaping from said container throughsaid port serving to scavenge the interior walls of saidcontainer, and a cup shaped cap threaded on the outer end of said valve body for ciosing outer end of said bore therein, the letter being exposed for cleaning out of any foreign matter blocking said small bleeder port upon removal of said cap.

ROY E. McILRATI-I. 

